


I See You

by wrenrouge



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Concussions, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 04:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15573891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrenrouge/pseuds/wrenrouge
Summary: Falling off his bed and getting a concussion was one thing, but falling for the guy he keeps bumping into was totally uncalled for.





	I See You

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all! I wrote this in 2 days, enjoy! Also I'd like to thank [Riley](https://twitter.com/tetsukens) for being my super awesome beta reader. <3

It was stupid.  _ He  _ was stupid. 

“ Kenma! Are you okay? Kenma!”  

The back of his head was pounding, his vision was an array of orange and black and the constant ringing in his ears would not stop. He opened his eyes, unsure of when he had closed them and blinked once, twice, three times before he could make sense of his current position. 

He was on the floor, Shouyou hovering over him, his features contorted by worry. “Where...am I?” Kenma slurred. His tongue felt heavy and his words left his mouth like syrup. “ What happened?” 

“You fell off your bed!” Kenma winced as Shouyou’s voice assaulted his ears. He was too loud, everything was too loud. He looked above him, past Shouyou and saw the broken remnants of what was once the guardrail of his loft bed, where he assumed he fell off from. How did he manage to do that, he did not know, but he did know that he was thinking too much. 

His brain pounded in his skull and as he tried to sit up, the world felt like it was turning upside down. “Did you hit your head too bad?” Shouyou asked, quieter this time. 

Kenma sighed, his hand reaching for the back of his head. It didn’t feel wet, but it felt hot to the touch. He brought his hand toward his face, expecting it, he stared at it for what seemed to be centuries before Shouyou shook his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. He looked at his friend, worry still etched in his features. “Kenma, I think we should go to the hospital.”  

Kenma nodded, unsure of what else to do. He felt as if he was underwater, every movement felt heavy, even more so when he tried to get up. Shouyou helped him up as best as he could, making sure Kenma didn’t collapse again. Kenma swayed as he walked outside their apartment and down to the parking garage and into Shouyou’s car. 

In the car, Shouyou kept giving Kenma worried glances as he drove them to the hospital, and everytime Kenma tried desperately to sleep, he shook Kenma’s shoulder and told him to stay awake. In his mind, he knew he was supposed to stay awake, but Kenma was so tired, a nap didn’t sound so bad right then. He was closing his eyes when —

“We’re here!” Shouyou said, but it felt more like a shout to Kenma. They got out of the car, Kenma more sluggish than anything else. “How are you feeling so far?” Shouyou asked as he took Kenma's hand to lead him into the hospital. 

“Bad.” was all Kenma said. He didn't feel like talking and thank god Shouyou understood. 

They walked into the ER and made a beeline for the desk in the waiting area. “Umm,” Shouyou began, “I think my friend has a concussion.” 

The receptionist, a small woman with blond hair, immediately prepared a packet for them to fill out. She took Kenma’s ID and insurance card and asked them to sit down in the waiting room and wait until they were called. 

“Want me to fill out the paperwork?” Shouyou asked. 

It took a minute, but Kenma finally registered the question and nodded bleakly. There weren't many seats in the waiting room, so they sat down next to a pair of young men about their age. One of them was sniffling, holding his knee, while the other rubbed the other's back in an attempt to console him. 

Kenma found himself staring intently at a potted plant in the opposite corner slurring the answers to questions Shouyou asked him. 

When they were done with the paperwork, Shouyou got up to give it to the receptionist, leaving Kenma to his own devices. As it seemed, this meant Kenma could finally nap, at least for 5 minutes. There was a nice comfortable shoulder next to him, and who was he to not take advantage of such an opportunity? He closed his eyes, body sagging to the side, head feeling heavy as it connected to the shoulder next to him. Unfortunately, the shoulder jolted before he could even relax properly. He looked up to see what caused the movement only to be met by warm brown eyes. 

"Ah, sorry," the stranger said,"I didn't mean to startle you." Kenma just stared at the stranger, trying to process what had just happened. He blinked a couple times before realizing what he just did, his face heating up in the process. 

He opened his mouth to apologize, but he found it difficult to push words out through his lips. He stuttered out a simple apology, feeling humiliated, but the stranger smiled kindly, a twinkle in his eyes, "It's fine," he had said.

Kenma only nodded dumbly, he'd been doing that a lot lately. 

"Are you okay?" 

_ No,  _ Kenma wanted to say, but instead he remained silent, hoping the stranger would stop asking him questions and making him think. 

"Kenma!" Shouyou appeared in front of them, "They said they'll get to you as soon as possible." Shouyou turned to the stranger, "Oh! Who's this?" Kenma would have murdered him if it wasn't for the pounding headache that he was currently dealing with. He just wanted to rest, not meet new people. 

The stranger stuck his hand out, "Kuroo Tetsurou."

Shouyou smiled, taking his hand, "Hinata Shouyou, and this is Kenma. He probably has a concussion." 

"That makes sense," the stranger, Kuroo, said looking in Kenma's direction. "I hope it's not a bad one, concussions can be a pain."

In that moment a nurse walked in, looking around the room. "Oikawa Tooru?" Kuroo and the man next to him looked up. "If you could follow me, please." the nurse said and turned toward the door. 

"It was nice meeting you, I hope you feel better." Kuroo helped his friend, Oikawa, get up from his seat and helped him limp toward the door. Kenma watched them as they left, unsure of what transpired, even if it was brief. 

They spent another hour in the waiting room before Kenma was called in. A nurse checked his vitals and then sent him to a physician that confirmed his diagnosis of a concussion. After some tests, he was finally discharged with instructions to not fall asleep for a few hours. He was also told to not engage in many activities, including video games, which didn't come as a surprise but Kenma was still upset. 

They left the emergency room late into the night, "How are you feeling?" Shouyou had asked on the way home. 

"Shitty," and they left it at that. 

 

* * *

 

It was two weeks after Kenma's concussion incident and he was feeling better, the world no longer spinned nor felt heavy so he took it as a sign that he was fine. He had visited his doctor at Shouyou’s insistence, and she had also confirmed that he was stable. He still wasn't sure how he managed to break his bed frame, nor could he remember the exact details of what had happened, but it didn't matter, as he had replaced the guardrail anyway. After taking a break from playing video games and skipping school and work, he just wanted to go back to his usual routine. 

He was on a train heading to work. He had given his seat to an elderly woman and held on to the bar in front of him. As the train stopped at the next station, he was jostled by the incoming traffic of people. He was pushed forward then backward as the wave of people entered and exited the train car. He suddenly felt someone push up against him and when he turned to see who it was, he was met with the same warm brown eyes he'd seen two weeks ago.

"Sorry, that was my bad," the stranger apologized, although he wasn't a stranger. "Oh, wait. You're concussion guy." Kenma just stared at him, he looked familiar, he knew that face, but his mind couldn't supply a name. 

"You probably don't remember me, but we met in the emergency room two weeks ago." the man supplied as he held on to a pole above him, "Kuroo Tetsurou, nice to meet you again." he smiled.

Kenma felt like he was experiencing déjà vu . "Kozume...Kenma," he let out slowly. He wasn't used to speaking to strangers, he rather disliked it, actually. 

Kuroo smiled again, "You seem a lot better than last time I saw you."

"I am," Kenma stated, "It was a rough two weeks," he continued, unsure why he was telling this stranger his life story.

"I can imagine, I've gotten a concussion too. They're not fun." Kuroo said with a chuckle. 

The train screeched to a stop in that moment and Kenma itched to get away. "Uh, I have to go, nice seeing you again," he hurried out of the train car, leaving a befuddled Kuroo behind. He got out of the crowded train and into the crowded station, not looking back.

It was a second too late,as the train left, when he realized his mistake. Kenma had gotten off on the wrong stop.

 

* * *

 

A month later, Kenma forgot the whole ordeal. Kuroo hadn't appeared in his train since then and Kenma didn't particularly care. He was just a stranger after all. 

He was waiting for his drink at his favorite café, playing a game on his phone to pass the time, not really noticing the people coming and going all around him. His concentration abruptly ended when a person bumped into him from behind. 

"Oh, sorry, that was my bad," and as Kenma looked behind him to tell the person it was okay, he almost dropped his phone. There standing in front of him was Kuroo. This time he'd actually remembered his name.

"Oh, concussion guy, Kozume-san, right?"

"Kenma is fine." 

"Right. Isn't it weird we keep bumping into each other?"

"We live in the same city, it's bound to happen." 

"Yeah, but it's been multiple times already, I think this means something." 

"What do you think it means?"

Kuroo rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not sure, maybe we could be...friends?" a sheepish smile on his lips. 

Kenma stared at Kuroo for a moment too long, making him nervous. "I mean i-if you want, that is." Kuroo stuttered. 

Kenma considered this, Kuroo didn't seem like a bad person. All things considered, he'd been really nice and polite. At that moment, a barista called his name to pick up his drink. 

"I'll think about it." Picking up his coffee, he turned toward the door, "I'll see you around, Kuroo." He left before Kuroo could get another word in the conversation. 

 

* * *

 

Three weeks after bumping into Kuroo again, Kenma's life went back to its normal routine. He went to school, he went to work, he stayed up late playing video games. Rinse and repeat.

He was at his university's library; he had a paper to write for one of his classes and had found some books that might be helpful. One of the the last books he needed was on the top shelf. He looked around to see if there was a stool anywhere nearby, but he found none. He sighed, resigning himself to standing on his tippy-toes. He reached upward, but before he could completely unshelve the book he wanted, he felt a presence behind him.

"Need some help?"

He knew that voice, and when he turned around, he knew that face too. 

"Kuroo." 

"The one and only," Kuroo smirked, reaching upward to get the book Kenma needed. "Is this the one?" he asked, handing it to Kenma.

Kenma nodded, unsure of what else to do.  _ How does this man keep appearing everywhere? _ He thinks. He was really starting to think he had a stalker. 

"So," Kuroo began, "We meet again." 

"Are you stalking me?" Kenma blurted out. 

"What, no!" Kuroo sputtered. "I know it's weird, but this is really all a coincidence." 

Kenma wasn't convinced. He narrowed his eyes as he fixed his gaze toward Kuroo, "How do I know you're not lying?"

"That's a fair question, I suppose." Kuroo mused, rubbing the back of his neck, "But I promise I'm not stalking you." Something about Kuroo made him sound sincere and Kenma decided, against his better judgement, to believe him. 

"Okay."

"Okay?" Kuroo repeats. "What does that mean?"

"That I believe you, I guess." Kenma shrugged. 

"Oho, what if I was your stalker though?" 

"Don't push it." Kenma warned. 

"Right." 

There's silence between them, both of them unsure of what to say. 

"So, have you thought about it?" Kuroo finally breaks the silence. 

"Thought about what?"

"Being friends." 

Kenma mulled it over, Kuroo seemed like a nice enough guy, he hadn't done anything to hurt him; he just hoped he wasn't making a mistake. "Okay." 

 

* * *

 

They were at a café not too far off campus, Kenma was picking at an apple tart while Kuroo took a sip of his green tea. "So what do you do, Kenma?" Kuroo asked, chin in his hand, waiting for Kenma to respond. 

Kenma looked up from his tart. "I'm a computer science major and I work at a convenience store," he said nonchalantly, "It's nothing special."

"That's pretty impressive though, at least to me." Kuroo offers, "What do you plan to do with that degree?" 

"Game design, I want to develop video games," Kenma answered, "What do you do?" 

Kuroo took another sip of his tea, thinking of his answer, "I'm a biochemistry major and I work at a lab here in the chemistry department."  

"So you do come to school here." 

"Why would I hang around here otherwise?" 

"Hmm...good point." 

"So, how's your head?" Kuroo asked, pointing at his head. 

"It's doing okay, my doctor says I recovered well." Kenma supplied. 

"That's good to hear. How did you get that concussion anyway?" 

Kenma remembered himself falling off his bed, something he wanted to forget entirely. "Uh, that's private." He really didn't want to tell Kuroo about this fiasco, it was embarrassing enough just thinking about it. "How's your friend?" he quickly changed the subject.

"Oikawa? He's doing better, but he still doesn't take care of his knee like he's supposed to. " 

"What happened to his knee?" curiosity getting the best of Kenma. 

Kuroo smirked, "It's private." 

Kenma couldn't help but snort, he deserved that. They continued to talk for the rest of their stay at the cafe. Kenma learning more about Kuroo and vice versa. Kenma learned that Kuroo was on the university's volleyball team, liked cooking, and had a pet cat named Patches. Kuroo learned that Kenma liked to play video games as much as he liked creating them, that he loved cats but couldn't currently get one, and that he wasn't a great cook. 

As Kuroo talked, Kenma couldn’t help but observe him. He noticed his features such as how his hair must definitely be bedhead, he noticed his eyes and how they crinkled at the sides when Kenma said something amusing, and he definitely noticed the many smiles that Kuroo had given him, ones he couldn’t help but return. Kuroo was handsome, charismatic and Kenma enjoyed his time with him. In retrospect, Kenma should have really seen it coming.  

An hour had passed before Kenma realized that he was close to being late to class. He dismissed himself and thanked Kuroo for the company, before heading back to campus. 

As he sat down in the lecture hall, he groaned, finally realized his mistake: he had forgotten to get Kuroo's number. 

 

* * *

 

Kenma arrived at his apartment that evening completely drained. He peeled off his shoes at the door and shuffled his way into the living room where he collapsed on the couch. He was exhausted and on top of that, he was still upset about not getting Kuroo's number. Kenma groaned thinking about how stupid he was. God, he was so stupid.

Shouyou came out of the kitchen, noticing Kenma on the couch. "Kenma! Welcome home!" 

Kenma grunted an affirmation, he didn't have the energy to respond to him properly. "You look down, is everything okay?" Shouyou observed, walking toward his friend on the sofa. Kenma made room for Shouyou where he Immediately sat down and placed Kenma's head on his lap. "What's wrong?"

Kenma couldn't lie to Shouyou, he was his best friend after all, so he sighed and told him about Kuroo. He reminded him of when they met at the hospital and then about all the coincidental meetings he'd had with the guy all over town. All the while, Shouyou carded his fingers through Kenma's hair, listening quietly to everything Kenma had to say. Shouyou was always the loud one, but when it mattered, he could be quiet. As Kenma finished telling him about how he had tea with Kuroo that day, Shouyou looked pensive. 

"And you're upset because you didn't get his number?" 

"Unfortunately."

"Why don't you just look for him again?" Shouyou asked. 

"It's not that easy, Shouyou." 

"Well then, you'll just have to wait for another fateful encounter." 

Kenma sighed, of course he had to wait, that much was clear. He wondered why he was even so invested in this, but then he thought of Kuroo's stupid face and realized he really wanted to see him again.

"Can you tell me something though?"

"What?"

"Do you like him?"

Kenma looked up at Shouyou and how easily he picked up on what was going on. "I think I do." he half-whispered. 

"Then don't lose him again next time."

 

* * *

 

Two months after his encounter with Kuroo, he found himself being dragged to the amusement park with Shouyou and his boyfriend. Kageyama Tobio was a quiet young man, except when Shouyou was concerned, in which case he was loud and competitive. Both he and Shouyou seemed like perfect enemies, were actually enemies once, and it was strange for Kenma to see them cuddled up together whispering sweet nothings to each other. But it happened, and Kenma guessed it was better than what they used to be. 

Even though Shouyou insisted that he wasn't a third wheel, Kenma felt like one, and even more so when they did couple things in front of him, like hold hands and eat each other's food. They were intimate acts and Kenma couldn't help but feel like he was intruding. 

"What ride should we go on next?" Shouyou had asked. "I feel like we've been on all of them.”  They had been at the park since that morning and once the sun had set, they found themselves about ready to leave. 

Kageyama took Shouyou’s hand, “Let’s walk around and see if there’s any short lines.” 

“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day,”  Shouyou teased. 

“Shut up, stupid.” 

Kenma just looked between them, this was a normal occurrence after all. 

They didn’t walk for too long before they were in front of the ferris wheel line. “Let’s go on this one!”  Shouyou basically bounced to the line, Kageyama and Kenma following after. As they got in line, more people got behind them. “Guess we got here in time.”  Shouyou observed. 

Waiting in line, they chatted about whatever mundane thing they could come up with. When Shouyou and Kageyama started acting sickenly sweet to each other, Kenma moved forward to the front of his group to escape the lovefest, but on the way, he tripped on his feet and bumped into the person in front of him. 

“Sorry,”  Kenma said trying to get his bearings “That was my mistake.”

The stranger turned around, “It’s okay — Oh! Kenma it’s you.”

Kenma immediately startled, he wasn’t planning on meeting Kuroo here of all places, but there he was. “ Kuroo?” 

“It’s me, yeah,” Kuroo gave Kenma a lazy smile, “ What brings you here?” 

“I’m here with them,”  Kenma pointed at Kageyama and Shouyou, who had looked to see what had happened. 

“Oh, it’s you!”  Shouyou let go of Kageyama’s hand to bound toward Kuroo,“ Kuroo, right?”

“Kuroo-san, do you know them?” Another man interrupted. He had dark hair and sharp eyes, and Kenma felt as though he was being dissected on the spot. 

“Oh, yeah, this is Kenma and his friends,”  Kuroo introduced, “ Kenma, this is Akaashi and,” he reached for the arm of yet another man, ”This other guy is Bokuto.” 

Bokuto’s eyes landed on Kenma, “Oh! So you’re the one Kuroo has been talking about lately. I can see why, you  _ are _ cute!” 

“Bokuto!” Kuroo grabbed his friend, clearly irritated. Bokuto only laughed.

Kenma felt his face warming up, he hadn't expected  Kuroo to talk about him, or think about him for that matter, much less call him cute. He wasn't sure what to do with that information.

“Anyway,”  Kuroo said, trying to salvage his dignity, “It’s good to see you again, Kenma.” 

“Wait, you’re Bokuto Koutarou, you’re on the volleyball team!” Shouyou shouted as he dragged Kageyama forward. Kenma had forgotten he was with them. “I’m a big fan!” Shouyou continued.  “My name is Hinata Shouyou, and this is my boyfriend, Kageyama Tobio.” 

Bokuto looked at Shouyou before looking at Akaashi, “I have fans? Keiji, I have fans!” 

“That’s impressive, Koutarou.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Bokuto hooted proudly, before looking at Shouyou, “So you like volleyball?” and Shouyou beamed at the question. Kenma knew in that moment that their conversation might never end. 

As the two couples interacted with each other, Kuroo approached him, “I’m glad my friends like your friends.”

“I guess so, yeah,” Kenma agreed, unsure of what else to say. Kuroo was there and as excited as he was, Kenma was nervous. He didn’t know how to approach him about getting his contact information, despite having established that they were friends. 

Kuroo smiled softly, “I’m glad to see you again.” Kenma felt his stomach twist into knots. 

“Me too.”

As they waited in line they talked about what had happened during the two months they were apart. Kuroo was getting busier in his lab and Kenma had so many ideas for projects he felt overwhelmed at times. 

“Are you two together?” Kenma heard the ferris wheel worker ask his and Kuroo’s friends. 

“Yeah!” Shouyou blurted out. 

“Okay, this car is ready,” the worker said, motioning for them to get inside. Bokuto and Akaashi went in first, followed by Kageyama and Shouyou, filling up all the seats.  

“Wait, Kenma!” Shouyou shouted to his friend. “Are you okay going with Kuroo-san in the next car?” 

Kenma eyes grew wide, he didn’t want to be separated from Shouyou, “Yeah, we’ll take the next one.” Kuroo answered for him, not realizing Kenma’s panicked state, but nothing could be done as the worker closed the door of the ferris wheel car. 

Kenma wasn’t sure what to think of this situation. On one hand, he wanted to stay with Kuroo, but on the other, he wasn’t sure about being with Kuroo in such a confined place. As a new car was opened, Kenma’s legs felt like gelatin as he walked inside it, Kuroo in tow. It turned out the group behind them was a group of four, so they would have to take a car together...alone.

The worker closed their car and pulled the lever for them to go up. As they were suspended, Kuroo decided to break the silence. “So, you’re third wheeling like me, then.” It wasn’t a question, and Kuroo stated it as if it were fact. 

“I was dragged into this, I just wanted to stay home.” and it was true, Kenma just wanted to stay home and work on his projects. 

“Me too, but Bokuto insisted and I couldn’t say no.” 

“Shouyou was like that too.”  

“Really? We have similar friends then.” 

Kenma wrinkled his nose.“Unfortunately.” Kenma loved Shouyou, but sometimes he was dragged into doing things he genuinely did not want to do. 

“It’s not all bad though.” Kuroo said, pensive. 

“And why is that?” 

“I got to see you again.” 

Kenma face felt like fire, but he looked toward Kuroo anyway, meeting his gaze. “I’m glad too,” he whispered. Both men startled as the car went up again and this time it kept going. Kenma looked around, watching the view from his side of the car. They were quiet, but it wasn't an uncomfortable quiet. 

“I haven’t been on a ferris wheel in so long, the view is absolutely breathtaking.” Kuroo filled the silence as they reached the top again.  

Kenma turned to look at Kuroo’s mesmerized expression. The lights of the ferris wheel illuminated his features and made him seem somehow brighter. A lazy smile sat on his lips and his eyes crinkled at the sides, he looked ethereal and Kenma wanted to stay like this, looking at him like this, for as long as he could. “Yeah, it is.” he said, eyes never leaving Kuroo. 

In that moment, before Kenma could look away, Kuroo turned to see Kenma. Their eyes met and the air felt electric, and before Kenma could register what he was doing, they were getting closer, like magnets pulling each other forward. 

“I like you, Kenma.” Kuroo whispered, and Kenma could feel the other's breath on his lips. He sat still, unsure of what else to do. He felt as though if he did anything else this moment would end. 

Kuroo looked down at his lips before looking back up, “Can I?”, and Kenma swallowed before nodding slowly and closing his eyes, and that's all it took for them to connect. 

The kiss was chaste, Kuroo's lips feeling soft against his. Despite the simplicity of their actions, Kenma felt his very core twist and burst into millions of splinters. He felt Kuroo's hand on his hip, lightly touching and nothing else as if to keep him in place. Kenma brought his hands up to caress Kuroo's jaw before placing them on his shoulders, as if to make sure he didn't float away.

They disconnected as the ride stopped, suspending them in the air once more. They looked at each other, both holding tiny smiles on their faces as they realized what they had done. 

"I think," Kuroo started, taking Kenma's hand in his own, "We should do that again one day."

"Only if I can get your number." Kenma said smoothly, relieved that he finally had an opening to ask.   

Kuroo laughed and met Kenma's gaze, "Only if you go on a date with me." 

Kenma felt bold as the words slipped from his mouth, "Only if you kiss me again." 

Kuroo didn't need to be told twice as he dove right in, holding Kenma's face in his hands. Kenma laughed into the kiss, giddy with excitement.  _ This must be what love felt like _ , he thought, but he didn't mind it, not when the reason for his love was Kuroo.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's that. 
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/wrenrouge) and [tumblr](https://wrenrouge.tumblr.com) as wrenrouge


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